HR: 10:20h
AN: C12A-01    [Abstracts]
TI: Streamflow response to seasonal snow cover changes over large Siberian watersheds
AU: * Yang, D
EM: ffdy@uaf.edu
AF: Water and Environmental Research Center University of Alaska, 306 Tanana Dr., Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States
AU: Zhao, Y
EM: ftyz@uaf.edu
AF: Water and Environmental Research Center University of Alaska, 306 Tanana Dr., Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States
AU: Armstrong, R
EM: rlax@kryos.colorado.edu
AF: National Snow and Ice Data Center University of Colorado, 1830 30th Ave, Boulder, CO 88309, United States
AU: Robinson, D
EM: drobins@rci.rutgers.edu
AF: Department of Geography Rutgers University, 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States
AU: Brodzik, M
EM: brodzik@nsidc.org
AF: National Snow and Ice Data Center University of Colorado, 1830 30th Ave, Boulder, CO 88309, United States
AB: We used remotely sensed weekly snow water equivalent (SWE) data (1988–2000) to investigate streamflow response to seasonal snow change in the large Siberian watersheds (the Ob, Yenisei, and Lena basins). We quantified the seasonal cycles and variations of snow cover and river streamflow and identified a clear correspondence of river discharge to seasonal snow cover change. We also examined and compared the weekly mean streamflow with the weekly basin SWE for the study period. The results revealed a strong relation between the streamflow and snow cover change during the spring melt season over the large Siberian watersheds. This relationship provides a practical procedure of using remotely sensed snow cover information for snowmelt runoff estimation over the large northern watersheds. Analyses of extreme (high/low) SWE cases (years) and the associated streamflow conditions indicate an association of high (low) flood peak with high (low) maximum SWE in the Ob and Yenisei basins. Comparative analyses of weekly basin SWE data versus snow cover extent(SCE), peak snowmelt floods, and climatic variables (temperature and winter precipitation) indicate consistency among basin SWE, SCE, and temperature but incompatibility between basin SWE and winter precipitation, particularly for the Lena watershed. The inconsistency suggests uncertainties in determination of basin winter snowfall amounts and limitations in applications of the SWE retrieval algorithm over large watersheds/regions with very different physical characteristics. Overall, the results of this study clearly demonstrate that the weekly SWE data/products derived from microwave remote sensing technology are useful in understanding seasonal streamflow changes in the arctic regions.
UR: http://www.uaf.edu/water/faculty/yang/bcp/index.htm
DE: 1640 Remote sensing (1855)
DE: 1860 Streamflow
DE: 1863 Snow and ice (0736, 0738, 0776, 1827)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting